Cloud Dragons
by Angela and MiniMix
Summary: Cloud was a rather unintimidating sort of dragon, but Zack wasn't that great a princess either. Tifa's just along for the ride. {In the mountains of Nibelheim, life, friendship and a healthy supply of goats are all that really matter.}
1. Names

Alright, so first I'd like to state that this is a cross-posting of something I've been writing and posting over on A03, though I've been posting it under the name _sassycatpants_ on that site.

This is basically a collection of oneshots set in an AU FFVII 'verse, and are all loosely connected; it's currently 20 chapters long and I am basically uploading a new chapter over there every few days or so as I get ideas. I'll be posting a chapter or two a day here every few days until I catch up to what's on A03, and from then on will be posting to both sites at same time. I'm basically copy-pasting already posted chapters from A03 up until chapter 20 at the minimum, so if I sometimes have author's notes that make no sense, assume that is a result of that. (That said, the A03 version is my preferred, as I have ability to do things like strikeouts, which I have used at least once and will need to figure out how to imply this version.)

This collection is also basically a gift set for Luci'en, my RP Cloud partner, among other things, and the one I am basing Cloud off of. This entire thing was his fault in the beginning and always will be.

* * *

"Sorry, sorry, I just-"

"Stop _laughing_!"

"I'm _sorry_! Cloud is just... not very intimidating for a dragon, don't you think?" Zack covered his mouth, choking back the laughter before the dragon got _really_ irritated and actually resorted to using fire to make his point. Said dragon-_Cloud_- just glowered, huffing angrily down at the SOLDIER; once he was sure he was watching, the dragon very pointedly picked up Buster sword in his claws and used it as a _toothpick_.

"'Zack' is a terrible name for a princess," he began irritably. "So you have absolutely no place to be laughing at me!"

"Yeah, but I'm not a-"

"It's a _terrible_ princess name," Cloud continued, completely ignoring Zack. "So I'm changing it, alright? From now on your name is... Is..." He paused, thinking. "Tifa!" he declared finally.

"But isn't that-"

"Exactly." Smugly Cloud dropped the Buster sword to the side, dropping his large head to get closer to Zack's eye level. "And she's very nice, you know. Brings me all sorts of tasty food to eat in return for not eating any of the villagers, and she'd make a nice princess, I think. But you're the one I'm stuck with, so I'll just call you Tifa too. Maybe you'll learn some manners if I do it often enough."

Somehow, Zack _really_ doubted that was how things worked-maybe he'd ask Tifa to explain though. (He would prefer not to find out just how flammable his hair was, thanks.)


	2. Not a chance

"Why?" Tifa asked, setting down the tray of drink on the inn counter. Zack tried a pout, but the teenage girl didn't even twitch, eyebrow going up. (_City boy_, she scoffed mentally. He'd have to do better than that.) "I don't get anything out of trying to explain it to him, and Cloud likes me. I'd rather not annoy him."

"But he can't just go around changing people's names!" Zack protested, crossing his arms. He felt bare without the Buster Sword on his back, but Cloud had made a point of never letting him head into town with it, to ensure he came back. Zack wasn't willing to leave his last memento of Angeal behind, and the dragon knew it.

"I'm not going to tell him that," Tifa repeated, lifting the tray again and turning away. She paused at the door to the inn kitchen, looking over her shoulder, eyes dancing with laughter as she gave him a jaunty little wave.

"See you tomorrow, Tifa," she called, just before the kitchen door swung shut behind her; Zack threw his hands up in frustration as her laughter drifted in his direction.

Maybe Missus Strife could talk some sense into the dragon?


	3. Fool's gold

I'm sorry this one is kind of dumb but-_taxes_

* * *

"Hey," Zack began, voice echoing slightly in the cave; the soft clinking of gil pieces underscored his words, a half hummed litany of counting under his breath even as he spoke. "Why do you have so much gil anyway? Like-where does it _come_ from?"

Cloud looked up from his pile of rough gems, head tilting as he processed the question. Where did he get his gil? Wasn't that obvious-well, obviously not if he was _asking_. "Villagers," he muttered finally, attention turning back to the gems. "They like to buy my shiny stuff," he explained smugly. "And all I have to do is dig them outta the mountains."

"...So you're selling them whatever you find inside rocks and then buying goats with the gil they give you, and sleeping on the rest?"

"Pretty much. To be honest though, most of the gil is from taxes. I bought the entirety of the village on a whim, you see."

Zack considered this for a few moments in silence; Cloud had basically just explained that he was practically single handedly (clawedly?) running the entire village's economy, judging by the amount of gil that seemed to take up his cave. And then he began to laugh, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the wall of cold rock-Cloud was essentially the richest resident of Nibelheim whether he was an official one or not, and that was _ridiculous_.  
Add that he literally _owned the town- _Taxes. He charged them _taxes_. On a _whim_.


	4. Tifa

Still not my fault and that's the story I'm sticking to.

* * *

Tifa was a smart girl-maybe a little bit naive, a little unrealistic, but she was _smart_. So when the dragon moved in, Tifa went out and made friends with it. (_"Are you a princess?" "No, not really. Nibelheim doesn't have any **real** princesses, but they do call me one so that's just as good right?" "Well, I suppose it'll have to do."_) And just as expected, it had been a genius move; Cloud was hesitant to harm her and her home as a result.

Well, insomuch as a dragon who didn't care for about ninety percent of the village could be hesitant, but that was beside the point. He'd adopted Tifa as a friend and sub-princess, and he was going to protect her as fiercely as if she'd been his real princess. And that included her home. That she quickly organized the village into providing him a steady source of food and gil, talked Missus Strife into managing the books for all that gil he'd begun making and spent a good part of her day every day up in his cave just chatting away was more like a bonus.

So when Zack became, essentially, Cloud's kidnap victim and then a regular fixture in the inn, pleading for her to convince Cloud that he couldn't just go around renaming people...

Well, in a small place like Nibelheim she had to get her fun in somewhere right?


	5. Unlocked Casual Cliff Diving Achieveme

/laughs

* * *

"You know," Zack said slowly, kneeling to peer off the edge of the cliff; Tifa hovered worriedly behind him, twisting her hands against the handle of her basket. "I don't think it's that far down. Cloud could probably just fly on down and grab the blanket for us."

"Ahh-no, I can't."

"What? Why?" Zack looked up, frowning. "It's really not far, I mean-"

"I can't fly."

There was a long pause, as both humans looked bewildered by this information. Tifa was the first to break it. Clearing her throat, she set the basket down and turnd to face Cloud, hands on her hips.

"And _what_ do you mean you _can't fly_?"

"Exactly what I said Tifa-I can't fly," he replied stiffly. His wings twitched, flattening against his torso as the dragon stood his ground. Behind her, Zack got to his feet, looking between the cliff edge and the dragon, still bewildered.

"I-dragon who can't fly-Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you fly." He'd seen him run, jump and climb, but never fly. And now he was curious. "Why can't you fly, then?"

"I'm afraid of heights. They're-well, they're just awfully high, you know? I can't. I just can not do it."

Well, he couldn't make the poor dragon fly _now_, could he? That'd be mean. With a sigh, Zack began to remove his bag. "Well, I guess I'll just have to do it." Moving closer to the edge, he peered down one last time, trying to find the best route to the picnic blanket he could see below.

"What-Zack!"

"Nah, don't worry I've jumped from higher!"

_"Zack!"_


	6. Heroes

Still Luci's faaauuullttt.

Also I kind of hate this one. [frustrated kicking noises]

* * *

"They're holed up in the cave system. So when I signal," Zack began quietly. "You launch yourself from the top of the boulder pile and glide down at them. Just act like a dragon, okay?"

Cloud cocked his head in reply, studying the cave entrance for a moment in thought. "And the children?"

"Well, it's either scared of a harmless dragon for a minute or two or dead. We don't have much choices here, so we're going to have to go with the first one." Zack ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The situation was far from ideal, but he wasn't lying when he said they had no other choices. And with every minute, their chance to rescue the abducted kids was slipping away.

Breathing deeply, the man straightened. "Okay Cloud. I'm gonna swing around the back and herd them out, okay? Get the men together, don't let them scatter. Try to keep the kids from tumbling off the cliff when they run, but otherwise let them go."

He clapped the dragon on the side, then launched himself over the boulder to head for the cave's back entrance; they could totally do this. Any asshole who thought they'd get away with hurting some kids when he and Cloud were around had another thing coming! A moment later he was sneaking through the caves, alert and nearly silent.

A few moments later saw Cloud launching himself off a pile of boulders with an angry roar, wings clipping a man as he made his pass; Zack emerged from the cave behind the group to the sound of gunfire, crying children and a very, very angry dragon.

It was the work of only a few moments to get the men rounded up and under _Sleep_, and the spooked children calmed down.

By the time the rest of their rescue party had made it up the mountain, Zack was entertaining one little girl with stories about being the only boy princess in all the world, and the rest of the children had turned a silently suffering Cloud into their own personal jungle gym.

"You know," Cloud decided, once the children were finally pulled away from their new heroes and herded along to be returned to relieved parents. "You're not a bad princess after all, Zack."


	7. Did you wedge the stick?

Very solidly Luci'en's fault for this one. I complained abut being unable to write for Seph and he told me to wedge something up my butt and it'd come naturally. :l Showing him this produced a comment of "the stick is lodged snugly. that's seph right there".

Therefore you get this, I'm so sorry. /leaves the fandom.

It's also so very short but I-

I just really can not write Seph for any length of time without it going off into tangents and sounding absolutely terrible.

* * *

"Are you aware you have been 'missing' for _six months_," is the first thing Sephiroth says when Zack answers the phone. "And the only reason you have not been listed as a deserter is because you send me regular reports on your... _adventures_." Zack pauses, drink halfway to his mouth as he fumbles for an answer to his superior officer.

"It's not my fault!" he settles for eventually. "I was kidnapped!"

"You have a rather large amount of freedom for a kidnap victim," the man on the other end of the line says dryly.

"Well if you wanna come down and convince the dragon I'm not a princess-"

There's a long silence, as Sephiroth actually considers the idea, before the line clicks and goes dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Cats are contradictery balls of rage stuffed in a furry affectionate shell. I forgot what sparked this but Luci was, as usual, involved.

* * *

"Haven't you ever met a cat before?" Zack asked, hand over his mouth and trying not to laugh. Tifa looked just as amused; the small kitten she'd brought along had wriggled its way out of her arms when it spotted Cloud, and now stood before the large dragon, puffed up. It was hissing and spitting, trying its best to look as menacing and evil as possible, and the dragon had puffed himself up in response; the wings angled to make himself even larger and a low growl rumbled in his chest.

"No," Cloud said shortly, before his attention returned to the little... _thing_ challenging him. "I have never met a _cat_ before."

Zack snickered as Tifa crossed her arms, stepping forward. "It's only a baby Cloud, stop trying to scare it-"

"It said my mother was a chocobo and my father smelt of rats!"

Zack lost it, dropping to his knees and pounding a fist in the dirt as he laughed. Tifa paused mid step, face going an interesting shade of pink as she struggled not to join her friend on the ground; Cloud didn't look at all amused by the situation.

"I-insults aside," Tifa managed after a moment. "It's only a baby and doesn't know any better-" Cloud hissed in response, and the cat took advantage of his distraction to pounce; Tifa lost the battle of will against laughter at Cloud's expression when he found himself with a face full of cat. With both humans on the ground and essentially useless Cloud gave up on them both, and set to work trying to peel kitten off his face without damaging it. (Tifa would get mad, and then who would bring the goats?)

(He had to admit the pest had moxie, and by the time Tifa and Zack left Cloud was the proud new owner of a cat named Gil. Of course, Gil thought he got the better deal.)


	9. Crazy Cat Dragon

Takes place the immediate morning after the events of last chapter. Still Luci's fault, and he requested this one so go ahead and blame him for the cute.

* * *

"Cloud?" Zack called cautiously, standing in the cave mouth. He had no idea what had happened, but somehow over night the cave had literally _filled_ with cats. "Cloud are you in here?"

"Yes, over here." Cats tumbled away and scattered as the dragon picked himself up off the floor in a corner, turning bright eyes on his princess human friend. "Good morning Zack. Did you sleep well last night? I slept very well-"

"Um-yeah. I slept fine. Hey, can I ask you where... uh. Where did all these _cats_ come from?" Zack scratched the back of his neck as his eyes tracked at least six different pairs of cats, all in various states of asleep or playing. There'd only been the one kitten when he and Tifa had left for the night, and now suddenly there were over two dozen, maybe more. There weren't even that many cats in Nibelheim, so where...?

"Well, Rocket Town no longer has a rat problem so I brought them here. And there was another village, I took those too."

"Oh. Alri-_what?_" He swung around to stare at the dragon wide eyed. _What_? "Are you saying-Did you _catnap two entire town's worth of cats_?"

Cloud merely blinked back calmly, claws tapping the stone floor gently as cats wound their way around him. One even made it's way up his foot and onto his shoulder before settling for a nap, and Zack sighed.

"They wanted to come."

"_Cloud_. You can't just take people's pets!" A six ton dragon pouting was both cute and utterly terrifying, and Zack took a small step back. (Just in case he decided fire was the way to go.) "Cloud, you have to bring them back. Gil was alright, he didn't have a home or family but all the rest _do_ and they're all probably worried."

"But they _wanted_ to come!"

Zack didn't even _know_ dragons could cry until now. Rubbing his face with a sigh, the SOLDIER considered for a moment. "What if we went to visit them after they go home?"

"Every day?"

"Once a week."

"Four times."

"Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Final offer."

The dragon perked up again, tip of his tail wagging. Zack tried not to grin at the cat who jumped over it as Cloud agreed to bring them all home. Now they just had to herd two dozen plus cats across the mountains.

_Fuck_.


	10. Mako Showers

Moment of seriousness instead of silly things, maybe? It doesn't last long.

Feel better, Luci friend.

* * *

"You know," Zack murmured absently, studying the mako fountain they'd stumbled across inside one of the caves. "I just realized-other dragons can't talk, and they're certainly not so... friendly? Most of 'em are mako mad, even. Like, most of the wildlife here is dangerous, and then there's just... _you_."

Cloud looked almost offended for a moment, before his rolled his huge shoulders in a shrug, response to the unasked questions flitting between them. "I think I was like the others once? I can't remember. One day I was just me, and that's all." _{Burning, fire in his veins; not the normal dragon fire, strange man in a white coat. Face glints-}_ He had no interest in remembering how or why he was different from other dragons; it was the _now_ that interested him more.

"It's a mako fountain though, right? Humans get materia from these sometimes, Tifa said. Are there any pretty ones in there? I want them if there are, and maybe one for Tifa." He inched closer, poking his snout at the underside of the formation carefully to avoid getting any on himself. "Come on Zack, check it out for me!"

Zack let the topic go, snorting softly and giving Cloud a soft shove to get him out of the way. Princess duty called, as usual.


	11. time warps in space

Throwback to first night with Cloudo.

Two chapters today because why not? ( I think a plot's working it's way in here without my permission)

* * *

It was cold that night, which was doubly uncomfortable on a stone floor. Even mako enhancements couldn't keep Zack warm against the sort of cold that seeped into ever crevice in Nibelheim. Luckily, he had a dragon who was, apparently, a cuddler. Wrapped up in the warm scales of the dragon he'd become an unwilling princess to, Zack considered his options.

Somehow, he doubted he'd be getting away any time soon-the locals didn't seem concerned at all about the resident dragon, so it was highly unlikely they'd be calling in ShinRa to remove it; in fact his guide Tifa had acted downright like best friends with the damn thing. Said dragon was faster than he looked with all that bulk, Zack had seen him move nearly as fast as Sephiroth, and with the dragon between him and the Buster there was no way he was getting to his sword either. (Cloud had definitely been intelligent enough to take the sword away and not let him have it back, too. Maybe he really _shouldn't_ have laughed?)

"Stop moving," Cloud rumbled, head tucked into a scaled leg. "You'll freeze, and then what will I do? Tifa can't be a full time princess, she has an inn to help run."

"I have a job-!"

Yet again his complaint was ignored, and Zack sighed. Tomorrow he'd check the cave for alternate exits and go from there.


	12. Paper Dragons

{/slowly strokes friend's face.} This one had to stew a few days before I figured out what to do with it, but Cloud and festivals seemed kind of nice. I'm thinking this is set in Nibelheim summer season, and my headcanon is that they're short summers? Warm, but still chilly because reasons, especially at night. No idea what this festival is for either, but I feel like paper lanterns are traditional lighting for the festival once it gets dark, with large bonfires spread across the village and maybe some colored lights like you see at christmas draped over stalls. I think it's mostly just food stalls, maybe a couple souveneir stalls? Possibly one or two for children's games, but I think the majority of the entertainment for this is just mingling with neighbors and gossip for adults, and the kids just run around playing whatever games kids play when they're being allowed to run wild. Dancing, later in the evening. They're probably celebrating the fact that they survived the winter and cold-ish spring and to bring good luck for fall and winter or something though. I didn't actually put much thought into it at all, haha. It's just what feels right when I picture the thing in my head? (what is plotting, I'm an impulsive writer I write whatever feels like it's supposed to be there haha. I literally didn't even have the visual put into words until I typed it here woops.)

* * *

"I've never been to a festival before." Cloud narrowly avoided walking into a stall, too busy swinging his head side to side to see _everything_ to really pay attention to where he was stepping; had Tifa and Zack not been there, half the festival stalls probably would have been leveled entirely on accident by now. "But I have watched from my cave sometimes. The lights are always pretty, at night. I always wanted to come though..." But a dragon, coming to a festival?

Tifa smiled slightly, reaching up to pat her draconic friend before gently directing him around yet another stall. (When Tifa had asked during the annual planning if Cloud could come too, someone had been smart enough to make the suggestion that they widen the space between everything this year if their resident dragon was going to attend. It was probably the only reason nothing had fallen over yet.) Zack laughed, spreading his hands in a gesture meant to encompass all of the village.

"This is nothing Cloud! Migdar has some good ones, and the festivals in Kalm are even bigger than this! One day we'll go, yeah? I mean, maybe it'll take some wrangling to get transport for a dragon, and some work to convince them you're harmless but one day!"

"Oooh, can we?" Sharp teeth glinted in the light of paper lanterns, colored lights playing across scales. It was a grin, Zack knew immediately even as a few people shied away just in case. Cloud was _happy_, and that made Zack happy too. Cloud was always more fun when he was happy; Tifa perked beside them suddenly and bounced away towards a food stall in a manner that had both males following behind her like puppies-Tifa always picked out the best foods, and if she was going to buy something then it _had_ to be good.

Cloud couldn't dance. Not on land, at least. He had four left feet and was new to all the dances that Tifa knew (and was teaching Zack, but he was just as many left feet as Cloud, and he only had half the number of feet), and eventually had to concede that dragons just weren't made for dancing.

But _singing_-it wasn't in a human tongue, but it was beautiful whatever language it was and Cloud could keep time well. So instead of dancing, the dragon sang.


	13. Fuzzy

Cloud starts becoming more than just the dragon they pay taxes to.

* * *

Cloud hadn't known Nibelheim could be so friendly; but then, he'd never really tried to be friends with the residents. Tifa had been the exception, and she had initiated that friendship. It wasn't until Zack had come along that the dragon had even _tried_, and finding that everyone seemed to... _like_ him was a bit of a shock. (Granted, they had grumbled a bit at first, and definitely didn't like him those years ago when he'd first taken over his cave, but he hadn't been in the village then and they'd grown used to their reptilian landlord. But he'd been pretty helpful around town, and Zack's innate charisma just smoothed everything further so it was only natural that they'd like him.) It was nice, he mused as he held up the end of a wagon so the wheel could be replaced. Being useful and being liked, he enjoyed it. And Missus Strife had even taken to calling him _son_. (_"Well, I treat you like one don't I?_ _So you're maybe a bit bigger than other folks' children, that doesn't matter. You're a good boy Cloud."_) It made him feel sort of fuzzy inside.

Zack had laughed when he mentioned it, though he'd hastily explained that he wasn't making fun of him when Cloud had started getting huff. (_"Just glad you're finally making friends, buddy. It's probably love, or maybe just happiness__. People are usually happy when others care about them."_)

He didn't really understand everything yet, but he was still learning so Cloud supposed it was alright. He had _friends_ now. (And maybe even a _mother_. Mothers were important.)


	14. Playin' with Portals

Feel free to suggest adventures for Cloud and co. to have, because sometimes I have the itchy writer's fingers but no actual adventures for them to go on and a pile of suggestions is useful, haha. I don't mind fielding requests for adventures, as long as I can find a way to work them in.

Leanne is an OC of my own, and her appearance here is ref to a dragon!cloud RP with Luci which in itself was a reference to this fic. Refs come full circle?

* * *

"So, you don't need materia to do magic at all?" Zack leaned forward, and the blonde girl leaned back a bit with a bit of an odd look on her face. Cloud watched in mild interest; the girl had claimed to be a witch from another world. While he knew Zack could take care of himself, Cloud had listened to a lot of stories from Tifa about princesses kidnapped by witches and he didn't want this girl taking Zack away from him. He'd eat her before she got very far, though he might demand a new princess first if something happened to Zack. (Not the ninja girl Zack had told him about though, he didn't need a _thief_ in his cave full of treasures.)

"Um, yeah. But I do need circles, so I think between us your magic is actually faster, and easier to use." Leanne (as she'd said her name was when Tifa asked) shrugged a bit as she spoke, fingers tapping against the bag by her side. Cloud wondered what was inside, but it seemed rude to just ask outright when they were in the middle of a conversation, so...

"Well, let me go get mine. Maybe something in there'll be useful and you can use it to get home," Zack offered easily, getting to his feet to find his stash. The blonde's eyes flicked around the cave as he went, before settling on the dragon. Cloud offered a toothy smile, half hello and half warning and was surprised when she beamed back at him.

"Well, at least someone here is familiar."

"Pardon?"

She laughed, waving a hand. "Nothing, sorry. There's just another Cloud I know. I turned him into a dragon once by mistake, and uh-well, he wasn't happy about it, but what can you do? There's a lot of worlds and a lot of people carry over in different ways and-_well_, that's not important. The important thing is finding a friendly face even if it's not the same one I know. It makes things easier to cope. So, jerky?"

Cloud blinked.


	15. Snow Dragons

Usual notes, for Luci, etc etc.

I just wanted Cloud to make snowmen, tho.

* * *

Claws, as it turned out, were not ideal for making snowmen. No matter how he tried, Cloud just seemed unable to manage the delicate work of placing snowballs on top of each other without his claws getting in the way, and thus he had been delegated the duty of gathering all the snow into one big pile for Tifa and Zack to form instead.

He _had_ been allowed to use said claws to make faces and carve out details, however. Carefully stepping back from his latest subject, Cloud surveyed the mountainside that the three of them had spent the day decorating; snowmen and snow dragons were everywhere, in various poses and expressions thanks to his handiwork. Beside him Zack stroked his chin, frowning.

"Something's missing."

"What?" What could they possibly be missing? Cloud frowned, trying to see it himself.

"Hats! They all need hats!"

"Zack, we don't have enough hats," Tifa objected. And that was true-they'd only brought a couple out with them, and even back in town there wouldn't be enough hats for all the snowmen they'd made today. Zack frowned again as he realized she was right, trying to think. Snowmen needed hats, though. He was certain of it.

So they'd just have to make some.

"Let's get leaves, we'll make leaf hats!"


	16. Old

Oops, I may have done a sad.

* * *

The life expectancy of wild dragons, Tifa had always known, was about twenty years on average. Disease, mako, injuries and scarcity of food after bad winters always took their toll on them eventually, even those that survived longer than twenty years. Even other dragons could be a danger to one. And those that survived _all of that_ died of old age within a few short years. Everything got old, eventually. But the statistics were for _normal_ dragons, and Cloud had long since ceased to _be_ a normal dragon. He was _Cloud,_ their best friend and he'd become a fixture in their lives. Nibelheim just wasn't Nibelheim without him.

But Cloud was dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. It hurt, when she thought about how his scales had lost their shine, or how he was too tired to even leave his cave anymore, how he slept nearly all the time. She'd known him since she was twelve, had been his friend for fifteen years and Zack's for twelve. They'd had _adventures _together, traveled together. Laughed, cried, done stupid things.

She'd helped him learn to _fly._

And now he was dying and she couldn't stop it.

"Don't cry Tifa," Cloud mumbled softly, eyes slitting open. "I know you were only a part time princess, but princesses don't cry."

"Idiot," she replied, wiping her eyes. "Zack's crying too."

"Yes, but he never was a very good princess was he?" Cloud tried to smile, a claw reaching out to poke her gently. Zack huffed, wiping his own face on a sleeve before he reached out to place a hand on the dull scales beside Tifa's.

"Thank you both, though. For being my friends."

Zack shook his head fiercely. "No. You don't thank people for being your friends Cloud, you-you just _are_ okay? Always, no matter what."

"Okay. I'll see you again." The dragon closed his eyes, and breathed out quietly. As Tifa choked back a sob, tendrils of green began to lift off his body, evaporating into the cool mountain air.

* * *

_"Hi! I'm Cloud. Wanna see something cool?"_

_"Yeah!"_

_"Okay. What's your name then?"_

_"Tifa."_

_"Okay Tifa. Watch this-"_

* * *

Not the end, promise. I'm pretty much jumping around their timeline, so nothing is really in order. Also originally this was going to be Tifa and Zack dying of old age and leaving Cloud behind but then I thought "why not subvert the dragon outlives all human friends trope" and thus we get dragons who don't live as long as people. /shrug


	17. Burning Nibelheim

[Still For Luci, the usual-

Also I'm sorry if the title terrified anyone and in an attempt to make you feel better I'll only say that it's actually a reference to the wasp nest on my porch that is now officially dead. Luci decided to make me feel better about it by dubbing it Nibelheim and making a dumb screencap edit to turn Cloud into a wasp that amused me; said nest was officially referred to as Nibelheim after that and I was urged to burn it down a lot.

For the record, it made me laugh and was a huge help even if holy fuck wasp nest is terrifying thing to find.]

Those notes were old, haha. Back from like, July/August beginning actually. The nest is looooong gone by now.

* * *

Both Zack and Cloud were bewildered when they learned of Tifa's fear of flying insects, and wasps in particular. While not an insect native to Nibelheim (it was far too cold to support them, and the spring and summers too short to grow the food sources they required), she apparently knew enough about the creatures to be utterly _terrified _the day she found a wasp nest outside the window of her room at the Kalm inn. Zack had burst into her room, sword half out and ready to defend his friend only to find the woman hiding in the closet on the other side of the room and nothing else in sight.

"Tifa...?"

"There's a _wasp _nest!"

"...Oh?" He was a bit confused about the fear, since in his experience tiny little wasps were nothing compared to the giant insects in Gongaga, but she _was_ genuinely afraid; with careful movements and little fuss, Zack managed to get the nest off the outside wall and to a large open space without being stung or swarmed. (A little bit of Confuse came in handy, he learned. Who knew it worked on wasps?)

"Okay Cloud! Light it up." Jumping back out of the way to avoid the burst of flame from Cloud's mouth, Zack jogged back to their female friend and gave her a gentle pat. "Look Tifa. All gone, yeah? Cloud's even giving 'em the firebomb treatment for you."

"Thanks guys," she replied eventually, after the nest had burnt to ash moments later. "Sorry for freaking out."

"Nah, it's cool. I'm afraid of Touch Mes."

"What's a Touch Me?" Cloud asked curiously, nudging his large head between the two. Zack grinned, holding out his hands to indicate size.

"Frogs, 'bout this big! Turn you into frogs too when they touch you."

"You're afraid of _frogs_?" Cloud scoffed, even as Tifa grinned and gave him a gentle bop on the nose.

"Be nice Cloud. You're afraid of dorky faces, remember?"

"One time! Just once! I wasn't even scared, I was just startled-!"

"Uh huh. Big scary dragon, afraid of tiny little dorky faces," Zack crowed, inwardly grateful for Cloud's catching onto the distraction so quickly. Thankfully, Tifa seemed to be just fine so with another laugh, he settled in to tease the dragon all the way back to the inn.


	18. Clood the Magic Dragon

I sometimes call Cloud "Clood" when me and Luci are doing dumb crack stuff, soooo-

Here you go. This one's really short, all dialogue and kind of hard to follow probably though. Haha.

* * *

"Clood."

"Zack, no."

"Clooooooooooooooood."

_"Zack."_

"Yeah, Clood?"

"If you call me Clood one more time, I swear I'm going to _eat you._"

"But Clood- oh shit! _Tifa!"_

"Get back here!"

"Tifa,_ help he's trying to eat me! Tifa!"_

"You got yourself into it, you can get yourself out of it! I'm not getting in Cloud's way-"

_"GET BACK HERE, ZACK!"_

_"TIFA-!"_


	19. Fish Fried

Big Mouth Billy Bass is a fond childhood memory, I'm not in any way sorry for this.

* * *

_"Take me to the river, drop me in the water_  
_Take me to the river, dip me in the water_  
_Washithfgd nhtdh fhn -"_

"Woah!" Zack jumped back in surprise as a jet of flame slammed into the back wall of the cave, obliterating the singing fish mid lyric. Grumpily, Cloud turned away, one eye giving Zack the _look._ Zack tried to look mournful as he poked at the ashes of the plastic fish. It'd been a pretty cool offering, in his opinion. And carried a tune damn well.

Guess Cloud didn't agree.

"It was an ugly fish," the dragon sniffed, closing his eye slowly. "And it was _annoying _after the three hundred and fifty fourth repetition of the song." The tip of his tail flicked at Zack, a gesture for him to come and get warm for a bit. The SOLDIER obeyed the wordless command without thinking, dropping down to get comfortable against the scales at his back.

"So, if they send you another one can I-"

_"No."_


	20. Flower Girl

Still for Luci.

You guys weren't expecting me to ignore Aerith forever, right? [Not that I was, I just had not figured out how to get her in yet.]

* * *

Aerith, it turned out, was very easily distracted from the mildly terrifying sky by the large dragon her boyfriend came to 'rescue' her on; Cloud was significantly less amused than Zack about the whole deal, but they _were _friends and he could tolerate the indignity of being used as a chocobo for a bit. He'd get his revenge anyway, on the way back.

"Y'know Zack, isn't the _princess _supposed to be rescued by the knight?" The Wastes were large, and even for the ground eating pace of a dragon it would be a awhile before they were close to home. Cloud had more than enough time to not only tease Zack, but implement _Operation: Get Zack in the dress._

"He's right, you know," Aerith added slyly, smiling at her boyfriend. "It seems awful backwards for the princess to be riding in on a dragon to rescue his knight from the monsters."

"At least you make a pretty knight," Cloud decided, twisting to look over a shoulder at the humans on his back. "I do hope you make a better knight than Zack makes a princess. He won't even wear the dress."

"I'm not wearing a dress, Cloud!"

"Is it a pretty dress?"

"Aerith don't encourage him!"

"It's a nice pink color. I think it suits him well."

Zack groaned, slumping forward as his girlfriend and best friend began conspiring to put him into a dress. He was never going to escape now, not when all three of them were likely to gang up on him until he wore the stupid thing.

Ah well. At least he'd finally fulfilled his promise to show Aerith the sky.


	21. Cursed

The next few are going to be chronological order, probably, or if not chronological then at the very least in the same time period. There won't be any explanations given in story for Cloud's predicament, but just assume that OC awhile back was involved in some way.

* * *

"Zack, it's _cold!_" Cloud whined, curled up in the corner of Missus Strife's kitchen and plastered against the wood stove in a pile of blankets. The only visible parts of the former dragon were a tuft of blond hair and blue eyes peeking out balefully. "And these blankets _itch,_ I don't like them! Get my scales back!"

Beside him, Tifa shoved another spoonful of Strife Specialty Stew into Cloud's mouth before he could close it again. "Chew," she demanded and the dragon obeyed immediately. It _was _some good stew, and it kept him warm. The memory of the freezing winds in his cave and the rushed trip to the Strife house before he froze to death made him shiver again. Zack set down the pile of firewood beside the stove and turned to Cloud, crossing his arms.

"Maybe if you'd stop taking off the clothes I gave you-"

"They're too big! And they itch too!"

"I dunno what to tell you then Cloud! Either wear the clothes and be warm until we fix it, or go naked and be cold."

Cloud pouted, burrowing further into the blankets to avoid Tifa's next spoonful of stew.

"You're being a terrible princess again."

"Too bad."


	22. Pants please

Promised Luci this one in exchange for AV run.

* * *

"Cloud, if I have to tell you to put on those god damn pants one more time-"

"Zack, they're too big. I don't want them," Cloud complained, huddling against the far wall of the cave. Zack scowled as he stood over the human shaped dragon, pants thrust out.

"It's because they're mine. It doesn't matter, just put them on before you freeze to death. You don't have an internal heater anymore." He shook the pants at Cloud lightly, and with a loud grumble the blond took them. Turning away from Zack, Cloud inspected the pants for a long moment as he tried to figure out how they worked. Why humans needed so many buttons and zippers he had no idea, and glancing back at Zack provided very little in the way of instruction.

"...I don't know how to do it," he admitted finally. With a sigh Zack stepped forward to take them back, shaking them out and tilting his head to indicate a leg.

"Put that leg in this hole first."

"This one?"

"No, the _other _one-"

**Crash**.

"Zack did you get Cloud into the pants yet-oh." Tifa slowly backed out of the cave, covering her face with the shirt in her hands. "Sorry!"


	23. I am Milk

[Don't ask about title, it's a stupid joke.]

Luci wanted soy milk so he got soy milk. /rolls off the Midgar cliffs.

* * *

It had never occurred to Zack that dragons could be lactose intolerant, human form or not; in retrospect it made sense. Dragons weren't mammals and weren't fed on milk, and even animals other than human lost the ability to digest milk well once they were weaned. He still wished he'd thought of this _before _Cloud had gotten sick on the large glass of milk he'd let him have when Mama Strife had given them all some cake.

The woman and her ability to take care of Cloud (more like tame the bloody dragon when he was in a bad mood) was a godsend.

"Soy milk," the brunette muttered under his breath as he browsed the shelves of the local store frantically. Dry toast, soy milk to replace the normal milk in the fridge and some medicine to help his stomach had been the tiny woman's instructions-but out of three, the only items she had on hand were bread for toast. Thus Zack had been dispatched to the store for medicine and soy milk.

* * *

"Zack, this says almonds." Cloud peered suspiciously at the carton of milk on the table as Zack put away the things he'd bought. (So maybe he'd bought some extra snacks and then maybe some regular groceries too, but the woman _was _essentially feeding them for free so he could at least help out by restocking what they'd eaten...) Zack didn't even look up from the canned vegetables he was tucking away.

"Contrary to belief, I _can _read."

"Then why isn't it soy?"

"They didn't have any. Only almonds. Mama Strife said it was fine, the point was lactose free milk, which this is."

"Hmmm." Cloud prodded the carton lightly before huffing as he turned away.

"I wanted soy."

Zack rolled his eyed, opting to hold out the medicine instead. "Are you going to take it willingly or do I have to force feed you like a chocobo?" The dragon's only reply was an indignant scowl even as he took the box; the SOLDIER took the opportunity to make him the dry toast before he could start complaining again.

"Here, this will help too."

"...Thanks," Cloud muttered grudgingly after a moment. Toast in hand, he retreated to his blanket nest beside the wood stove.


	24. E for Everyone but not D for Dragons

FFXIV time with Luci is always interesting. Cloud decides he wants to be a gamer dragon, but claws don't play nice with controllers, and VR headsets don't come in dragon sizes. (Yet.)

Sorry Cloud.

* * *

"Shit, Cloud use Fire2-"

"I'm trying!" A frustrated roar escaped Cloud's throat as he died yet again, the tinny voice of the party healer yelling at him through the game system's speakers doing nothing to help the situation.

"Dude chill!" Zack yelled into the microphone of his headset, nudging his dragon friend a bit. "It's not his fault, okay? He can't navigate the controller with claws, it's not like Cloud's dying on purpose or anything." The healer's response caused the controller in Cloud's grip to crack, crushed in between claws angrily. With an annoyed snarl he spat fire, incinerating the game system abruptly, and Zack yelped as he fell backwards, ripping his own VR headset off to stamp out the fire.

"Calm down Cloud!"

"I _am calm_!" The angry dragon got to his feet, pacing in a large circle across the cave floor. "Where's the headset for me? You promised me Reeve would have it delivered this week so I could play properly!"

"And it's on its way, I promise-" Zack swore under his breath as Tifa and Aerith both poked their heads into the cave with questioning looks on their faces. "Everything's fine ladies! Just a technical problems." Tifa shrugged and ducked away again at that, pulling her new friend away again, and Zack ran a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"I want it _now!_"

"Reeve said it'll be here tomorrow Cloud." The SOLDIER knelt down to pick up the pieces of the smashed controller, sighing. "I better call and have them send a new game system too," he added dryly. "Since you trashed this one. Again." Cloud snorted in response, looking away. It wasn't _his_ fault, he was certain. If they'd just make dragon sized controllers, it wouldn't be a problem in the first place; not that ShinRa seemed to take it seriously when Zack had broached the topic. At least with the VR headset he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, he decided finally. Until then though, he supposed he would hold off on the MMOS.

No one understood the woes of a dragon with inadequate hardware anyway.


	25. Pack Mule

Cute fluffy things.

* * *

There were a lot of things Cloud considered himself far too dignified to ever stoop to doing; being a pack chocobo was very high up on that list. (Though fetching things back and forth for the villagers recently had become something he was more willing to do when he'd started making friends with them, being led around while carrying bags on his back like a chocobo was still where he drew the line.)

And yet, when Mama Strife asked him to help her ferry a cart full of blankets across the Nibel Mountains and to Rocket Town to sell Cloud couldn't deny her. The dragon absolutely _adored _the woman, and despite all of Zack's jokes about chocobos and dragons (and the subsequent temper tantrum and the fire hazard that was Zack) Cloud allowed himself to hitched up to a cart like some sort of common animal.

And when the woman scratched his scales and called him _son _as she thanked him for being so helpful, Cloud couldn't help preening. He might not be a chocobo, but for Mama Strife he'd be _anything._

* * *

I have the sudden urge for Cloud to decide he's gonna join SOLDIER and be the first dragon to ever work at ShinRa.


	26. White Mage

Okay so this takes place sometime after the events of 14 but before the events of 21, 22 and 23. This is also all/mostly dialogue and at least half caps lock.

For Luci as requested~ [I am so sorry I healed myself 3 times and let you die that one time tho. In my defense, we knew I was a shitty healer lmao.]

* * *

"WHY ARE YOU HEALING YOURSELF? I'M DYING-"

"I'M SORRY! I _TOLD_ YOU I WAS A SHIT HEALER!"

Zack winced slightly at the sound of a crash and an annoyed roar, hurriedly ushering Tifa out of the cave and away from what he was sure was going to be a spectacular amount of fireworks.

"NO THAT'S NOT HOW YOU DO IT-GIVE ME THAT!"

"HEY NO, THAT'S MINE-!"

"GIVE ME THE CONTROLLER LEANNE OR SO HELP ME THERE WILL BE BARBECUED WITCH ON THE MENU TONIGHT!"

Another crash, and he sighed as a game system came flying out of the cave. Reeve was going to start _charging _him for these... He ducked, throwing Tifa out of the way as a flame burst out of the cave, centimeters behind a fleeing blonde.

"SEE IF I EVER HEAL YOU AGAIN-"

"YOU DIDN'T HEAL ME THIS TIME!"


	27. Birthday Dragons

[It's my birthday today, so I wrote this one for myself as a mini celebration, haha.]

The original date of this chapter was August 17th, which is my birthday. It is not, sadly, my birthday today ha.

* * *

"So, what exactly is a birthday?" Cloud asked, watching curiously as Zack ran around their cave, hanging directions and shouting orders to Tifa and Aerith who were both doing something odd with... streamers? (He thought that was what Zack had called them.)

"It's when you have a party to celebrate being born and getting a year older!" the SOLDIER replied, nearly falling off old Mr. Johnson's ladder as he whipped around to hang up another decoration. "But you don't remember when you hatched, right? So we just picked the date I met you for your birthday celebration!"

The dragon poked gently at a decoration, huffing softly as his claw was swatted away by Zack. "But what does one _do _at a birthday?" he insisted, settling back against a wall. He didn't actually know, having never done this before and he wasn't sure he knew how to participate. As it was, nearly half of Nibelheim had been coming and going all day, bringing things like _presents _and _food_ and preparing for a village wide party. (He kind of liked the presents!)

"Eat really awesome food and hang out with friends, of course." Zack actually fell off the ladder this time, and Cloud hurried to catch him, cushioning his fall with his own body. "And eat cake. And best of all, presents!" He grinned up at the dragon as he got back on his feet, climbing right back up to finish the decorations.

"There, all done! Now we just have to finish putting out all the food Mama Strife and the rest of them made and then we can party! Tifa, hit the radio!"

"Got it!"

Cloud winced slightly at the blast of music before it was quickly dropped to a more tolerable level of sound, then looked around as people came streaming back to the cave to wish him a happy birthday.

He could get used to this, he thought. Especially if Mama Strife made that cake every year.


	28. Adventures in Midgar

/gently places a duck on Luci's head and leaves this here

I do this because I love you.

[You guys are now officially caught up to the A03 version of this fanfiction. That said, you guys _really_ should at least pop over there to see that version because there _is_ a chapter 29 up there that won't be posted here because 29 is actually a piece of fanart I commissioned from a friend. archiveof /works /1753685/chapt ers/4956579 is the link, though you'll need to turn it into a proper link obviously.]

* * *

Midgar was huge, compared to Nibelheim, and for a dragon used to the sleepy routines of a remote mountain village it was a little overwhelming. There were so many _people,_ and everywhere he looked was concrete and metal; buildings taller than_ him _on every street corner and in the center of it all ShinRa Tower. The Tower was their current destination, Zack rambling about all of the things he got up to inside the HQ and Aerith half plastered to Cloud's side and using his wing as a shield. (She was Zack's, and Zack was his so that made Aerith his by extension and he wasn't letting the mysterious Turks he'd heard about take her away.)

It wasn't until they'd reached the door that Zack even realized they had a problem-Cloud was far too large to fit through the door, even if ShinRa's ridiculously high ceilings meant he could actually fit into the lobby.

"...You know, I don't think I thought this through all the way," Zack admitted, scratching the back of his head thoughtfully. "Hm..."

"How can I enter SOLDIER if I can't even enter the _building?_"

"Aha! I know! Wait here!" Zack dashed off, shouting over his shoulder-if Cloud couldn't get to the recruitment office, then he'd just have to get the recruitment office to him! At least, that was the _intention_-what ended up actually happening was a bizarre comedy of errors that no one could have predicted, somehow culminating in half of the recruitment office staff quitting their jobs and the other half putting their collective brains together to figure out the problem of _how,_ exactly, to fit a dragon into a cadet's uniform.

(In the end, General Sephiroth was seen giving cadet Cloud special permission to forgo the uniform due to 'difficulties pertaining to adequate movement as required by training'. Overall it was a satisfactory arrangement for all, and Cloud was quite relieved. He would have looked _ridiculous _in shorts.)


	29. Midnight Shopping Adventures

Midgar really is not built for dragons.

* * *

Midgar had not been built with dragons in mind; that much had been clear when Cloud first arrived in the city to join the cadet program. Doors were too small, and food sizes in all the restaurants and take out places were calculated for human consumption. Not to mention, no one had thought to inform the residents of Midgar that a dragon had joined the cadet program; there were at least three calls a week for SOLDIERs to dispatch a rampaging dragon for three months before anyone thought to make an announcement that the dragon wandering the city was an employee and not, in fact, a rampaging beast out to devour innocent bystanders.

(The fact that Midgar was not built for dragons did not change three weeks later, when Zack decided midnight was the perfect time for them to go food shopping.)

xxxxxx

"Zack."

"What's up buddy?" Zack didn't look up from his PHS, trying to locate the grocery list he'd emailed to himself earlier that morning. (Gotta get Cloud a PHS too, he reminded himself abruptly. Reeve had been working on a design that would be both big enough and easy to manipulate with claws for his friend recently.)

"I'm stuck."

There was a pause, before the statement registered in Zack's brain and he looked up; Cloud was indeed stuck. His head had fit through the door just fine, but his shoulders had gotten wedged into the doorway and now he was unable to force himself in further, but also unable to back out. "...OH. Um-shit Cloud hang on-" Zac dropped his PHS into a pocket and looked around, a little frantic. He'd stupidly left his materia bracer at home, and didn't have anything else on him that could cast mini so that solution was right out. A shout of alarm from a nearby clerk, who had notexpected a dragon stuck in the door when he turned the corner, drew Zack's attention and the man bounded over, arms waving frantically.

"Hey! Great timing-don't suppose you have something we can use to help my friend do you?"

"I-uh-N-no. I'm sorry sir, I-" The man took a deep breathe and straightened as the initial alarm wore off, a thoughtful expression coming over his face. "I think I know what might help sir."

xxxxxx

"You know, when I suggested food shopping I didn't think I'd end up spending an hour lubing a dragon."

"Shut up Zack."

"If it helps, at least now your scales are all smooth and shiny-"

"Shut up Zack."

* * *

I was asked recently how I come up with adventures for Cloud and friends and tbh I don't really come up with anything ahead of time? The Cloud Dragons plotting process is literally 90% me asking Luci what he wants Cloud to do next and doing it, 5% Luci telling me to write a situation and 5% me taking something that happened to me in and applying it to Cloud's life.

Basically the plotting process most days is

Me: What if Cloud did [insert chapter events here]  
Luci: do it  
Me: ok  
Me: *posts chapter hour later*

[laughs] So yeah like there's nothing really special about how I go about doing stuff.


End file.
